is a Japanese manga artist, known for hero and romance series. His works include Wing-Man (1983–1985), Video Girl Ai (1989–1992), I"s (1997–1999), and Zetman (2002–2014). He has also worked as a character designer for Iria: Zeiram the Animation, Tiger & Bunny and Garo: Crimson Moon, as well as the video game Astral Chain.

Career

Masakazu Katsura was born in Fukui Prefecture in 1962, but spent his childhood in the Gifu and Chiba Prefectures. He has loved drawing since the age of three, specializing in landscapes, and won medals for his oil paintings in middle school. In elementary school, he was obsessed with hero television shows like Ultraman and Kamen Rider. Katsura had no interest in manga until his second year of middle school, when he learned of Weekly Shōnen Jumps Tezuka Award contest. Wanting the prize money so he could buy a National stereo, he bought Osamu Tezuka's How to Draw Manga and gradually all the expensive drawing equipment. At the same time, Katsura's story "Tsubasa" won an honorable mention at the Tezuka Award in 1980.

Katsura's first serialized manga was Wing-Man, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1985. Torishima later said that he could not relax until the first collected volume was released, because it meant he had fulfilled his promise to Katsura's parents.

Toshimasa Takahashi, then editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump, told Katsura to draw a "contemporary drama". They worked together again in 2009, for the three-chapter one-shot Jiya in Weekly Young Jump. Also in 2008, Katsura did a design illustration of the Batman costume for Bandai's "Movie Realization" action figure line, basing it on the costume used in the film The Dark Knight.

In 2020, Katsura worked with author Erika Yoshida for the one-shot love story "Okaeri", to conclude Weekly Young Jumps 40th anniversary celebrations.

Style

Katsura's manga series typically last about two or three years. He said he never worried about creating a flagship title that would continue for decades, "After finishing [one], I'd play around for about a year."

Personal life

Katsura famously commissioned a costume resembling the one worn by the protagonist of his manga series Wing-Man for 1 million yen. In February 2025, Katsura posted to X that a Wing-Man costume, which had been stolen from a locker in his home a decade ago, had recently been sold at a festival. He asked that the buyer return it.

Katsura was good friends with fellow manga artist Akira Toriyama. The two met in the early 1980s, after having been introduced by their mutual editor Kazuhiko Torishima, and even parodied each other in their own manga. Toriyama advised Katsura to make DNA² a battle manga while he could, and to turn the protagonist's hair white and make it stand up; similar to Toriyama's own Dragon Ball. However, Katsura said this is only a rumor; while he did in fact suggest it to him, he knows that Toriyama was not listening and claims Toriyama later thought it up on his own.

References

  • Official website